New border plans in bid to break deadlock

PM to unveil proposals to resolve issue of Irish border

Theresa May will unveil new proposals for the Northern Irish border in a bid to break the Brexit negotiations deadlock.

EU leaders yesterday rejected the prime minister’s Chequers blueprint, saying it will not work in its present form.

Following a working lunch of the remaining 27 EU states during a two-day EU summit in Salzburg, European Council president Donald Tusk said that while there were “positive elements” in the plan, Europe could not accept any proposal which threatened the single market.

He said: “Everybody shared the view that while there are positive elements in the Chequers proposal, the suggested framework for economic co-operation will not work, not least because it is undermining the single market.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU27 was agreed that, “in the matter of the single market, there can be no compromises”.

Speaking at the end of the informal gathering in Austria, Mrs May said the UK would “shortly” be coming forward with new proposals on the so-called “backstop” arrangements for implementation at the border if no longterm solution is found.

She insisted that the plan drawn up at her country residence in July remains “the only serious and credible proposition on the table” for resolving the issue of the Irish border.

Mrs May also rejected a European Commission backstop proposal for Northern Ireland to remain within the EU customs area after Brexit, arguing that this would draw a border down the Irish Sea.

The PM said: “On the economic partnership, there is no solution that will resolve the Northern Ireland border which is not based on the frictionless movement of goods.”

Mr Tusk said the “moment of truth” in the negotiations would now come at the next full European Council meeting in October, when it will be decided whether to hold a special summit in November to finalise the withdrawal agreement.

He added: “Today I am a little more optimistic when it comes to a positive outcome of our negotiations.

“Unfortunately we cannot at this stage exclude a no-deal – it depends on both sides of negotiations.”

It came as Nicola Sturgeon warned extending the timetable for Brexit negotiations must remain on the table if the UK is to “avoid an economic cliff edge”.

Mrs May had insisted delaying the UK’s March 29 EU departure date was “not an option” but the first minister said: “Even at this late stage, Theresa May can escape the corner into which she has boxed herself.”

Earlier, former Brexit secretary David Davis claimed no “self-respecting democracy” would accept the terms for Britain’s future relations with the EU set out in the Chequers plan.

We cannot at this stage exclude a no-deal – it depends on both sides of negotiations. DONALD TUSK

Picture: AP. Prime Minister Theresa May watches passing heads of government after the family photo at the informal EU summit in Salzburg, Austria, yesterday.